Madden Arcade Coming To XBLA, PSN

Today EA announces Madden NFL Arcade, a downloadable, pick-up-and-play, 5-on-5 football game for those of us who get dizzy looking at all of those X’s and O’s.

I’m one of those Madden players who picks up the game every year, beats the pants off of the AI in easy mode a few times, gets his arse kicked online once or twice, and then trades the game back in. I enjoy the game, but when it comes right down to it the whole thing is a bit too deep for me. Perhaps Madden NFL Arcade for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network is the answer.

There are no penalties and no field goals in Madden NFL Arcade. Just four downs to make it 60 yards to your goal, with the first team to score 30 points winning. Games can be tailored to your liking, tweaking skill level and points-to-win, and during play you can use any of 13 “Game Changers” to break the field wide open. It almost sounds like NFL Street, doesn’t it?

“When you look around the office and see your whole team playing and having tons of fun with it, you know the game hit the right mark,” said marketing director Nathan Stewart. “We have diehard Madden fans who have worked on the franchise for a decade, and more casual gamers who are all playing together and enjoying it. If our productivity the past few weeks is any indication, we’ve created a game that everyone will love.”

Madden NFL Arcade will be available on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in December for $US14.99 and 1200 Microsoft points respectively.